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Colorado State men's basketball not approaching hoops Showdown any differently

CU a chance for CSU to pick up coveted quality road win

By Sean Star Sports Writer

Posted:
12/04/2012 10:23:02 PM MST

Colorado State's Wes Eikmeier says Colorado State will approach Wednesday's battle with Colorado like any other game. (Hunter Thompson)

FORT COLLINS -- The Rocky Mountain Showdown back in September may have been a matchup of two football programs struggling to gain traction, but tonight's basketball game between Colorado State and Colorado is anything but that.

The two teams have just one loss between them and both received votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll. So while bragging rights are one thing, tonight's victor stands to gain something more tangible, a quality win.

At 6-0, the Rams have matched a record for the best start in program history, yet they're still somewhat untested. Their strength of schedule is currently ranked 289th, and just one of their six wins are against a team in the RPI top 50.

That could all change, though, with a win over the Buffs, who despite a recent setback at Wyoming would still likely be the type of victory the NCAA selection committee specifically looks for come mid March -- on the road no less.

All that considered, though, the CSU players don't seem to be approaching the contest with any added pressure or anticipation.

"I learned sophomore year, you can't look at the other team and their RPI, or anything like that," said senior forward Pierce Hornung, who is expected to return after missing the past two games with concussion-like symptoms. "When you start doing that, you start thinking about the wrong things, and things don't tend to work out as well when you do that. When you just focus on your game plan, and what you can do and what you can control, things tend to work out for you."

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CU (6-1) holds a significant edge in the rivalry at 83-37, though CSU has enjoyed some success recently, winning two of the past three and four of the past seven showdowns. The Rams, however, have won just once in Boulder -- in 2006 -- since the 1979-80 season.

"It obviously isn't just another game, neither was Denver, neither was Northern Colorado," said Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy, who is 6-5 lifetime against Colorado, including a 1-4 mark at the Coors Events Center. "It's a big game for this state. Who's kidding who -- that's what it is. It's going to be difficult, and what validates what I just said is it's happened just once in my lifetime I think that Colorado State has gone down there and won. I've taken Iowa State and won once. I realize just how difficult it is."

As if today's game needed any more hype -- a sellout is expected for the 8:30 p.m. tip -- CU guard Spencer Dinwiddie gave the opposition some bulletin board-worthy material this week when asked about Ram fans rushing the court after last season's 65-64 win in Fort Collins.

"You just kind of see when the little brother beats the big brother once, then they are going to be happy, they are going to rush the court," Dinwiddie told the Denver Post. "When we win (tonight), I don't think our fans are going to do that."

Colorado State senior guard Wes Eikmeier was asked if he had any reaction to Dinwiddie's comments after practice on Tuesday.

"That's fine," he said. "They can approach the game however they want to. I just know, we as a group, we've got six seniors and we understand what it is to go through a whole season. We're just going to approach it like another game. To us, it's just another game. We're going to put our best effort out on the court, just like we do any other game."

CSU women look for first road win

Prior to the men's game, the CSU and CU women will face off in Boulder at 5:50 p.m. While the men's game is expected to be a close contest, the CSU women (2-4) are facing quite the tall task. The Rams have lost three straight, including the last two by at least 17 points in road losses at Loyola Marymount and Bowling Green last week.

Meanwhile, the Buffs are 6-0 and have already posted wins over two of the Mountain West's better teams, handing Wyoming its lone defeat and beating defending conference champion San Diego State -- both of which were played in Boulder.

The matchup is part of a tough early season slate for the young Rams, who are taking some lumps under first-year coach Ryun Williams as three freshmen and one junior college transfer have seen significant playing time.

"I think our kids know that we've got to surely compete at a different level," Williams said following the loss Saturday at Bowling Green. "We're learning how to do that through these tough losses. Five out of our first six opponents were NCAA or postseason qualifiers someway or another."

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